“I’m sure I’m very humbled by an honour like this,” Pierce Brosnan said as he was made an honorary officer of the Order of the British Empire today.

Honorary OBEs are awarded on merit to non-British citizens who have made an important contribution to British interests.

As Her Majesty’s Not So Secret Servant, Brosnan has saved the world from annihilation several times over, but he said receiving the honor in his native Ireland, with his mother, stepfather, three children and granddaughter by his side, had touched him deeply.

“I’m completely bowled over by it, really,” he said after the medal was presented by Britain’s ambassador to Ireland, Stewart Eldon. He said he had been told about the OBE about four months ago and at first thought it was a friend pulling his leg, “but later I realised it was for real”.

Brosnan has made his fortune portraying the debonair and indestructible 007 in the most recent four of the 20 Bond films.

Acting achievements apart, Brosnan is currently campaign chairman for the Entertainment Industry Foundation and has been a leading figure in environmental protection efforts over the past decade. Two years ago, he was appointed a special patron for UNICEF Ireland.